Automatic speed-brake for submarine mines.



, P. BRGK; AUTOMALIIG SPBEIVBRAKB FOR SUBMARINE MINES. APPLICATION FILED DEO. 8, 1909.

. 1,014,804. v Patented Jan. 16, 1912.

FRITZ BRCK, OF OSNABRCK, GERMANY.

AUOMATICSFEEDBRAKE FOR SUBMARINE vMlNES.

Specieation of Letters lqtent.

Patented Jan. 16, 41912.

Application led Decehiber, 1909. I Serial No. 532,104.

To v(z'ZZ whom it may concern l:

i Be it known. that I, 'FnI'rz'BRC-ii, en-

,f ,rineen subject of theKing of Prussia, German Emperor, and residing at Osnabruek, Germany, haveanvented a new and useful 4Improvement in Automatic Speed-Brakes for`Submarine Mines, ofwhich the following is afdescription.

fMy invention relates to `submarine mines of the class intended to 'be deposited or planted by torpedo boats and other boats adapted to such use. Mines of this character aroused for obstructing harbors, navi-V gable streav s and other water areas in time of threateneu or actual war. l

lVIyinvention relates particularly to such minesof this class as are provided with anchor adapted to rest upon or attach to ,the sea bottom and provided also with meansv 'enabling thenr( more e.\"actly their heads) to ascend from/said anchor when the mine` as a whole, isicast into the water orplanted until a predetermined depth below the surface of the Vwater attained, in which position the mine proper is checked and lfixedly held or clamped by asuitable device so that it can not ascend higher. Mines ot this kind are commonly lprovided with alight cable, w-indable upon a drum attached to the mine, terminating in a heavy weight or anchor. The head is so constructed as to be lighter than the volume of water ,which it displaces s0 that it will always tend to rise, from,any depth to which it may have been submerged, and ioat upon the .surface ot the water; by suitably determining the weight ot this head the magnitude ot' the upwardly iml'ielling force may be fixed as desired within wide limits.

In the operation ot the mines as just described, the mine proper or head has .a tendency, duc to the hydrostatic pressure of the surrminding later, to dart up from the anchor with great. velocity when cast overboard; and this velocity tends to be greater asthe water into which the mine is deposited becomes deeper; When 'the vpredetermined point below the surface ot the -water at which the head is .to be stopped is reached, and the checking device is applied. the suddenstrain thus` put upon the apparatus is so great that there is grave risk of tweaking the cord or the clampingr device. or some other essential part ot the mine. soas to either' cast it. loose or disable it altogether. l

.Tt is the object otiny invention to'provide means to eliminateA this risk.) This 1 accomplish by providinga brake to coper-v ate with the Winding.,r mechanism in such a way that the unwindinfiand, therefore, the

upward movement ofthe head can not take place at a velocity exceedinga certain mag-v nitude. The head, therefore, aseends to its posit-ion finally predetermined at a fairly uniform vand low rate of speed, so that the clamping devicev is able to act. without undue strain'being,entailed either upon it,".its

related devices or the cable.' I may, of'.l

course, and preferably do,` provide the brak-v mg means with an adJustinent by means of which the speed of ascent pern'iittedtlie head may bemade greater or'less at will. .If the head. is-n'ot stopped'the moment'it basat-v tained thel desredlevel but' is allowed to overshoot, as it will if it rises at too great velocity, itis clear `that too great a length of cable will be unwound so that after 'the head and cable have'been clamped said head is desired 4for Vthe purpose intended'.

Referring to the drawings," Figure 1' is a vwill be nearer-*the surface ofthe water'than view showingrr ali-elevation.'pait section, of a similar section taken along the line 4.--4-

ot Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 5-'5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is an elevation corresponding to the Sectional View shown in Fig'. 4.

Referring to the drawings, a is a headeontaining explosives and embodying suitable arrangements for the detonation thereof, as is usual in the'art Suitably attached to a below is a drum b, 'adapted to have wound around itthelight cable c terminating in an anchor. r. Outside the d'rumand at one end ot' the shaft thereof is a largespur gear f andattached to a main casingr g, w'hiclisrtrrounds the drum, is a clamping device h adapted to bind the cable c fast against said open into the central chamber which con-l tains the gears c and Z. One of said orifices is upon one side of the ,longitudinal center line ofthe housing and the other orifice symmetrically uponkthe other side of said line,

' while both oritices are upon the central line ofthe housing at right angles to' the longitudinal line. The apparatus being assembled .as shown, the housing isilled with'4 a suitable fluid medium, 'preferably 'some heavy non-acid oil.

Attached to and within a subsidiary casing .at thebottoml of' the main casing andthrough which runs thecabl'e c and immediately adjacent said cable is aclamp h, operated byclock work (not shown')' adapted to rmly grip the cable at the expirationof apredetermined time after the -mine has been cast into the water.v The beginning o f this time period may be fixed vby therelease 'of a suitable 'device attached vto the' mine just prior to the v,time said mine is east over.- board, or automatically, by some device adapted to release whenthe mine strikes the water; other ways oi'fixing the beginningof thistime period may be provided without. departing from the spirit of my invention. Or, means dependent upon hydrostatic pressure and hence upon depth below the surface may utilized toopel'ate the clamp instead of timed mechanism. f

The-operation of the device is asl follows:l

. When the mine is first cast into the water,-

the mine -properorrhead and anchor. arecompactly related and the cable c wound -tightly upon the drum. As the arrangement sinks to the sea bottomtho head, by

reason of its buoyancy, tends to rise quickly these gears would spin' around and offer no' resistance other than the usual frietional 'rewithreference to the `descending anchor. The cable c, unwinding' from and rotating the drum, since the drum. rotates the spur Vgear f, tends -to rotate the pinion m and, thereby, the two house/d gears -c and Z. AWithout the oil contained in the. housing,

sistance'. Considering the vcontained oil, however, it isclear that said oil tends to be compressed on one side of the longitudinal I'center line of the housing and that a contrary tendency' exists upon the other side of said line. As the apparatus is constructed,

6.6 the oilyields .to this compression by passing through o into the chamber'n and thence. into the inner chamber 'g through p. The rate at whichthe oil is permitted to, pass through these orifices de ends, of course,

upon their size and this is etermined, therefore,for the maximum speed which the mine is tobe permitted to have. To lessen-this,

speed, I- provide a screw r' and a lock nut s; by vsetting r closer to or farther away from the orifice jv, I obstruct the passage of the loi'l through said orifice and vtlierefore,"slowl -down the mechanism as a whole.

While in the above specification and in fla the drawings'I have shown a special and preferred form of braking device as controlling the rate of ascent of the mineand cific structure employed. Thus, other forms ,pf fiuid braking mechanism might be used,

while thls form constitutes a part of my 1nas also housed fans operating to compress n air, which may be given a certain rate of leak; or centl'ifugally act-ingV devices might be used. Any one of such. brakes may be desifrnated' as a speed brake. A

Mmy other details might be altered without depart-ing from -the spirit of my invention, which l 'have embodied -in thefr following claims.

1. The combination, in .a submarine mine of the class described, o f a head, an anchor, al cable connecting said head and anchor, a winding drum for saidrable, and aspeed brake entirely. independent of but driven'by andcontrolling said windingdrum.

Q. In combination'with the winding drum, in a' submarine mine of the class described-g a speed brake comprising a housing having two chambers, a pair of meshed spur gears embraced by one ofsaid chambers, a spindle fied to one of said gears and actuated by the winding drum, fand a pair o'oritices connecting the two chambers, said ori'fices being oppositely situated as to a line through the axes of the two spur gears, substantially as and for the'purpose described.

3. In combination with the winding drum, in a submarine mine of the class described; a speed brakecomprising a housing having two chambers, a pair of-meshed spur gears ,embraced by one of s aid chambers, a spindle fixed to one gear andactuated by the. winding drum, aA pair of orifices connecting the two chambers, said orifices being oppositely situated as toa line through the axes of the spur gears, and an adjustable screw adja' said speed brake.

5. The combmatlon, 1n asubmarinemme said Winding drum.

of the class described, pf :1 head, an anchor, l the two chambers said. orifice being located a cableoonnccrirfg sani bead and anchor, a opposely as to a hne through the axes of winding drum er .Qald cable attached to the gears, substanhaly as and foiI the pur- 15 said head, and a. Speed brake entirely inrlepose described.

1n tesllmony whereof I have hereunto aiixod my signature in the presence of two suhsrz'lbmg wltnesses.

pendent of but driven by and controlling G. In combination with the winding; drum, in a submarine mine of "he class lcsribeth a. speed brake comprising a housing' having t\vf cham.\ors. a pair of connect-ef] gears actuated by the winding drum in om` of' said chanibersanil a pair 01" orifices uonnecting FRITZ BRCK.

iitnesscs: A

Ll'nwn; WERNER,

lnxlss'r H. L. ML'MMENHOFF. 

